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Sunday, 5 May 2013

It is realization that is true religion

ॐ
वीरेश्वराय विद्महे विवेकानन्दाय धीमहि । तन्नो
वीर: प्रचोदयात् ।

The Master did not normally interfere, however high the matter
discussed. He let them talk. They would learn better, he would
say: and sometimes he enjoyed the discussion. By it he sensed
the spiritual insight of his disciples. Truly the Master's
company was a grand school for the soul. It was a stimulus to
personal growth. Everyone was free to discover and realize his
own potentialities. But there were certain occasions when Shri
Ramakrishna did intervene: for example, when Naren's towering
thought overwhelmed the limited vision of another. There was
that instance when Naren attacked faith as a means to
liberation. He spoke of "blind faith". The Master said, "Naren,
what do you mean by 'blind faith'? Faith is always blind. Has
faith an 'eye'? Why say 'blind faith'? Either simply say 'faith'
or say 'Jnana' [knowledge]. What do you mean by classifying
faith--one kind having an eye, the other being blind?"Slowly but surely Naren came to understand that it was
realization that was true religion: man must see God. Thinking
of Reality was good, but better was the vision of it--to attain
which took time and much loving patience. But in time Naren
discovered that the silence of insight was Shri Ramakrishna's
most eloquent teaching. Sometimes, during conversations, Shri
Ramakrishna would hold forth in soul - stirring utterances. At
other times he would leave the disciples to themselves and their
argumentative moods. Discussion ended, they would find him in
deep Samadhi. This, they came to know after a time, was his way
of protesting against their heated discussion. His character and
the spiritual radiance of his personal life were the power
behind his teaching. The man who preached universal love and
toleration lived it. Shri Ramakrishna did not attack any social
custom. He did not preach against caste. Himself a Brahmin, he
had love for the downtrodden millions who were lowest in the
social scale. By performing the most menial of all services,
which even the lowest of the outcastes would shrink from doing,
he revealed his utter humility.What were Shri Ramakrishna's answers to questions pertaining to
God - vision and methods of realization? How to pray? "Pray in any way," he would say, "for the Lord hears even the
footfall of an ant." How to find God? "By the conquest of lust
and gold." Sincerity was the main theme of his teaching. Without
sincerity nothing was possible; with sincerity all was possible.
He would say to Naren and others that if they carried out but
one - sixteenth of what he had done to realize God, they would
be blessed for ever. Is God Personal or Impersonal? "He is
both," said Shri Ramakrishna, "and yet He is beyond both; beyond
any intellectual or theological dogmas. He is manifest to the
soul in its own inmost realization. He assumes any form for the
pleasure of His devotee. He is inexpressible. . . . He is not to
be found between the covers of a book or within the walls of a
temple." Is image - worship right or wrong? Such a question, to
Shri Ramakrishna, was an idle one. Worship of anything which
helped one to see God was right. Intense longing was the one
thing needful.